Edited by Ana María Martirena-Mantel, this volume, published in Spanish and English, contains the papers presented at a seminar sponsored jointly by the IMF and the Instituto Torcuato di Tella of Argentina. The seminar was held in Don Torcuato, near Buenos Aires. The volume consists of six papers, commentaries, and an overview by the editor, who also acted as moderator at the seminar.

Foreword

Under its seminar program for nonofficials, the International Monetary Fund was privileged to have been joined by Instituto Torcuato di Tella of Argentina in sponsoring a seminar on “External Debt, Savings, and Growth in Latin America.” The seminar, which was conducted in Spanish, was held at the Hindu Club, located in Don Torcuato, near Buenos Aires, in October 1986, and was attended by economists representing a wide range of views from universities, banks, research centers, and other nonofficial institutions in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, the United States, and Venezuela. Participants, who attended in a personal capacity, also included members of the staffs of the Fund, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the World Bank.

The relevance, indeed the urgency, of the topics discussed provided an opportunity to have a frank and constructive exchange of views and experiences which, I am convinced, has enriched the understanding of the issues and has contributed to focusing the search for appropriate solutions. This, of course, is a major objective of the seminar program, as well as the objectives of promoting a better understanding of the work of the Fund and of improving the Fund’s knowledge of thinking in academic, business, and other nongovernmental circles.

This book represents the continuation of the Fund’s effort to publish a wide variety of views about its role and activities in the developing world. While all the views expressed are not necessarily shared by the Fund, it is our hope that their dissemination can contribute to a more informed discussion of the issues.

Michel Camdessus

Managing Director

International Monetary Fund

Acknowledgment

It is important to record the warm thanks of all the participants in this seminar to those who were responsible for its success.

I should begin by referring to the devoted and tireless organizational work of Hernán Puentes, of the External Relations Department of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., and Alberto Petrecolla, Director of the Instituto Torcuato di Tella in Buenos Aires, both of whom spared no effort to arrange this seminar.

My special thanks are due to Mónica Fiorini and Mercedes Vigliershio de Viña of the Instituto Torcuato di Tella, who with rare skill and efficiency overcame the many obstacles inherent in the operational details of holding such a seminar. I would also like to thank Jennie Lee Carter, Assistant Editor in the External Relations Department of the Fund, for expertly directing the volume from draft through publication, and the English Division of the Bureau of Language Services of the Fund, for translating papers from their original language.

Finally, in my capacity as moderator and editor, a mark of confidence placed in me by both institutions, I received great help from Javier Ortiz and Pablo Gómez through their patient, professional transcription of the seventeen hours of sessions.